Calgary — The New Year’s Eve turmoil on Air Canada, where some passengers said it was related to bad behavior by the Russian world junior hockey team, seems to have been innocent, but the International Ice Hockey Federation still takes action. Say you can.
“IIHF is collecting more information about the case from relevant authorities and will refer the case to the IIHF Ethics Board to determine if the actions of the Russian delegation violate the IIHF Code of Ethics.” The federation said in an email.
“By the decision of the IIHF Ethics Committee, the case will be referred to the IIHF Disciplinary Committee for sanctions.”
In a weekend news release, Calgary police responded to reports of a turmoil involving multiple passengers on an Air Canada aircraft at an airport in the city, while police officers said airline staff while passengers were leaving the plane. He said he helped “keep peace.”
Some passengers reported that the flight to Frankfurt was delayed by about three hours after Russian players and team officials refused to wear masks properly in accordance with COVID-19 rules. Passengers also claimed that some members of the group smoked and did not listen to the flight attendants.
A city police spokesman said she had no arrests or accusations noticed, and police officers only boarded the plane during the New Year’s Eve incident to ensure safety when passengers were taken away.
A police spokeswoman said the Canada Border Services Agency was handling an investigation into an in-flight safety breach, but authorities said in an email Saturday that there were no ongoing investigations related to the issue. ..
Russian team members have returned from the IIHF World Junior Championships in Red Deer and Edmonton, but were canceled last week due to a COVID-19 on several teams.
Russian media quoted team coach Sergei Zubov, saying that both the Czech Republic and the Russian team were removed from the flight because they violated the mask regime.
Russian sports news MatchTV said the Russian team was later allowed to board other planes to Montreal and Toronto after Zubov was removed from the aircraft, following Frankfurt and returning to Moscow.
Zuboff told Match TV that he had quit smoking three years ago and that there was no cigarette smoke on board. He suggested that the enforcement of Canadian mask rules was strict and that some of his team did not wear them properly, perhaps because of the joy of returning home. ..
Business class passenger Eoin Kenny said a Russian employee sitting near him was smoking an e-cigarette in the cabin and refused to put the mask on his mouth and nose. The flight attendants tried many times to get him to comply with the rules, Kenny said, but the man refused.
The man also played Russian rock music on his phone and refused to decline it when the staff asked, Kenny added.
Zuboff suggested matching the TV with the exaggerated story, probably due to the lack of hockey to report.
Kenny said they were noisy in the departure lounge, but he didn’t think the Russian player was drinking. He said he believed that the Czechs, who were quiet in the lounge, were confused with the Russians because they wore similar gray sweatpants.
This is not the first time a Russian junior team has had a hard time at the airport.
After winning a gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo, New York in 2011, Delta Air Lines asked to leave out of control in 2011 when the team appeared to return home.
The bus driver who took them to the airport told Buffalo News at the time that there were some teams who had to get drunk on the bus.
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